Pennsylvania Security Deposit Law

Maximum deposit

Landlords may require no more than two months' rent as a deposit in the first lease year and no more than one month's rent from the second year on, including renewals (68 P.S. § 250.511a). (68 P.S. § 250.511a(a)-(b) (Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.1))

Two months' rent during the first year of the lease; one month's rent from the second year on (including renewals)

Return deadline

Landlords must return the deposit, less itemized damages, within 30 days after the lease ends or the tenant surrenders the unit and the landlord accepts it, whichever comes first (68 P.S. § 250.512(a)). (68 P.S. § 250.512(a), (c))

Itemized statement of deductions

Landlords must give the tenant a written list of damages claimed against the deposit within 30 days, or they forfeit the right to withhold any of it or sue for damage to the premises (68 P.S. § 250.512(a)-(b)). (68 P.S. § 250.512(a)-(b))

Interest on the deposit

Once a deposit over $100 has been held for two years, landlords must pay the tenant the escrow-account interest each year, less a 1% annual administrative fee (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a(c), 250.511b). (68 P.S. § 250.511b(a)-(c) (Landlord and Tenant Act § 511.2), 68 P.S. § 250.511a(c), 68 P.S. § 250.511c (bond in lieu of escrow))

Deposits over $100 must be held in a regulated bank escrow account (or secured by a bond) and the tenant told the bank's name/address and amount; from the second anniversary of the deposit, the tenant is owed the account interest minus a 1%/yr administrative fee the landlord may keep, paid annually on the lease anniversary.

Penalty for wrongful withholding

A landlord who fails to refund the balance within 30 days owes the tenant double the amount wrongfully withheld, and one who skips the written damage list loses the right to keep any of the deposit (68 P.S. § 250.512(b)-(c)). (68 P.S. § 250.512(b)-(c))

Where the deposit is held

Pennsylvania requires any deposit over $100 to be kept in an escrow account at a federally or state-regulated bank, unless the landlord instead secures repayment with a guarantee bond from a bonding company authorized in the state (68 P.S. §§ 250.511b(a), 250.511c). (68 P.S. § 250.511b(a) (Act § 511.2(a)), 68 P.S. § 250.511c (Act § 511.3))

Qualifying institutions are those regulated by the Federal Reserve, FHLB Board, Comptroller of the Currency or the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; interest (less a 1% fee) is owed only from the second anniversary of the deposit.

Receipt or written notice of the deposit

Pennsylvania tenants are entitled to a written notice identifying the escrow bank by name and address and stating how much of their money is on deposit there (68 P.S. § 250.511b(a)). (68 P.S. § 250.511b(a) (Act § 511.2(a)))

The notice is triggered 'thereupon', i.e. when funds are placed in any escrow account, interest-bearing or not; the Act sets no separate receipt form.

Move-in condition checklist

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act has no move-in inspection or checklist requirement; deductions rest on the written damage list due within 30 days after the lease ends (68 P.S. § 250.512). (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a–250.512 (Act §§ 511.1–512))

Pet deposits

Pennsylvania has no pet-specific deposit statute; a deposit held for possible pet damage is escrow money for 'damages to the leasehold premises' within the two-month/one-month cap (68 P.S. § 250.511a). (68 P.S. § 250.511a (Act § 511.1))

Nonrefundable fees

Pennsylvania state law does not regulate nonrefundable move-in or pet fees; the Act governs only money deposited in escrow for damages or unpaid rent (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a–250.512). (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a–250.512 (Act §§ 511.1–512))

Small-landlord exemptions

Pennsylvania's deposit rules contain no exemption based on how many units a landlord owns; they apply to all residential leases, with escrow and interest triggered by deposit size and age instead (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a(e), 250.511b, 250.512(f)). (68 P.S. §§ 250.511a(e), 250.511b, 250.512(f))

Deposit alternatives and installments

Pennsylvania has no statewide rule on tenant deposit alternatives or installment plans; the Act's 'bond in lieu of escrowing' is a guarantee the landlord buys to secure repayment, not a product offered to tenants (68 P.S. § 250.511c). (68 P.S. § 250.511c (Act § 511.3))